Chemist’s Days in Brzeg Dolny – 57 years of tradition!

June 2021

Newsletter of the PCC Rokita Capital Group and affiliated companies

Happy Summer to all our readers!

PCC CHEM NEWSEditorial Team contact details

Editor:Maciej Trubiszphone 71 794 2448, e-mail: biuletyn@pcc.euul. Sienkiewicza 4, 56-120 Brzeg Dolny

Typesetting: Hiram Advertising Agency www.hiram.pl

Publisher: PCC Rokita SA, seated at ul. Henryka Sienkiewicza 4, 56-120 Brzeg Dolny, entered into the Register of Entrepreneurs kept by the District Court for Wrocław – Fabryczna in Wrocław, 9th Commercial Division of the National Court Register (KRS) under number: 0000105885, Tax Identification Number (NIP): 9170000015, Natio-nal Business Registry Number (REGON): 930613932, BDO 000052553, share capital PLN 19,853,300.00, paid in full.

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Events Chemist’s Days in Brzeg Dolny – 57 years of tradition! From life of companies#We vaccinate!

Personal MattersOpen Day of the PCC GroupFrom scholarship holder to chief technologist

After work2021 – the European Year of RailFlying a drone safely over Brzeg DolnyChess – a passion of mine

It gained legal validity through the resolution of the Council of Minis-ters and CRZZ (the Central Trade Union Council) of 9th January 1964 on establishing the “Chem-

ist's Day,” as announced in “Monitor Polski” (the Official Gazette of the Gov-ernment of the Republic of Poland). Its purpose was to appreciate the employ-ees of chemical plants and all chemists in Poland. On this occasion, meetings, festivals, concerts and various sports competitions are organised.

The festive atmosphere of the days is palpable in June especially in towns and cities with large chemical plants. It is no different in Brzeg Dolny, where the town’s residents as well as employees of GK Rokita and other plants indulge in the celebrations. It is difficult to tell apart the events organised by the plant in communal facilities and those held by the borough as part of the “Days of Brzeg Dolny.” A general impression that Brzeg Dolny is a “City of Chemists” is particularly strong on those days.

Sports competitions and various ways of appreciating Rokita's jubilee-celebrators have always been a harmonious chem-ical duo, joined over time by an enter-tainment segment offering a number of

1965: Chemist's Day, poster by Rosław Szaybo

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attractions for children on the occasion of Children's Day.

The history is full of other important events related to the celebrations. Let us mention here at least a few of them.

In the jubilee atmosphere of the 25th anniversary of NZPO Organika-Rokita, it was our pleasure to guest the minister and representatives of both central and provincial authorities.

Thanks to a photo and description by Alina Z Albekier-Beer, we know that we were visited by (from the left) citizen Karst – the Provincial National Council in Wrocław, comrade Jerzy Olszewski – Minister of the Chemical Industry, com-rade Ludwik Drożdż – 1st Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, member of the Polish People's Republic Parliament, representative of the Central Trade Un-

ion Council (CRZZ), citizen Jagodziński from the District Trade Union Council, and Jerzy Krymowski – Vice-President of the Provincial Board of the Union of Socialist Youth (ZMS).

The time is no less important than the people. At the time, the construction of propylene oxide and an intermediate for the production of propylene glycol and polyethers for polyurethane foams plant was under preparation, and the concept to modernise the chlorine plant was being developed. History has shown that among foreign currency loans often carelessly taken out by Gierek's crew in the 1970s, Rokita has been a notable exception. The outlays for the licensing of the above-mentioned plants paid off quickly and completely, and the installa-tions, developed over time, determined the company's current profile. However, it would not be possible without the sup-port “at the top,” which Rokita's man-

agement simply had to seek on various occasions in those times.

As part of the accompanying celebra-tions, on 6th June 1981, during a solemn Holy Mass held on the occasion of the Chemist's Day, the banner of NSZZ “S” NZPO “Organika-Rokita” was blessed at the Rokita Sports Club stadium.

In the context of “Solidarność“ (Inde-pendent Polish Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity“), one should not fail to mention the celebration of the Inde-pendent Chemist's Day organised by the opposition in the 1980s (starting in 1984). On 2nd June 1985 at 1:00 p.m., employees of Rokita and other chemical plants, students of Wrocław University of Science and Technology as well as creators and cultural personalities gath-ered in the Church of St. Klemens in Wrocław to pray together during Holy Mass. The Mass, celebrated before Our

1971: 25 years of NZPO for jubilee celebrators – from archives of AlinaZ Albekier-Beer

1967: Chemist's Day – barrel of beer going to winners of the game at the old stadium. The electrolyser hall in the background. (FB_JanCzykiel)

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Lady of Consolation, was held for the homeland, political prisoners, former internees, and one's own intention.

In 1996, as part of the plant’s 50th anni-versary celebrations, a gala concert with the participation of Krystyna Prońko, Alicja Majewska and Włodzimierz Ko-rcz was held in the sports hall. That same year on 9th September, one of the largest jubilee events took place in the post-Cistercian monastery complex in Lubiąż, to which representatives of for-eign companies cooperating with Rokita were invited.

1996’s celebrations of the 50th anniver-sary constituted a great opportunity to show appreciation for the employees. This was achieved, among other, by the Resolution of the Management Board of Zakłady Chemiczne “Rokita” S.A. on awarding employees with badges and honorary medals commemorating the 50th anniversary for significant work ef-fort and special contribution to Rokita’s development.

25 years earlier (in 1971), in order to honour those of the plant’s employees whose personal work input was particu-larly significant to the plant, the title of Honoured Employee of ROKITA was introduced. By definition, the title was of an honorary nature and did not give any special rights. By 1980, a total of 39 employees had been awarded with the title.

Football encounters

Tournaments and sports events held on the occasion of the “Chemist's Day” have always given football fans heaps of satisfaction and arisen a lot of emotion.

Football matches were first organised in the 1960s at the old city stadium. When football struggles were over, as a prize,

the winners would receive a barrel of beer sufficient to quench their thirst af-ter their sports efforts.

An old-boys football match that took place in 1971 for the then already tra-ditional barrel of beer caused peals of laughter among the audience. The teams that clashed that day on the pitch were the Management Board of KS “Rokita” and the Works Council. The players’ uniforms consisted of Roman tunics and flat caps, and the referee – wearing a traditional folk costume from Kraków – made funny rulings.

Old-boys football matches between Rokita and Elektrociepłownia Zielona Góra (combined heat and power plant), inaugurated in 1985, were a tradition

that stayed around for more than sev-eral years. Since it began, the team from Zielona Góra has been visiting us in June to compete at events devoted to Chemist’s Day, and vice versa – the Power Engineer’s Day (in September) would not have been the same had they not played against Rokita's old boys on that occasion. It is impossible to recall all the final scores, but in June 1997. Rokita won 3-2 and so won the Cup of the President of Rokita SA. The heat and power plant’s team was awarded the President's Cup of the newly established “Energetyka-Rokita” company.

Matches between the City Hall and the Police Department, played on the pitch behind the “Piast” Hotel attracted a lot of attention. The results were varied –

1985: 2nd independent Chemist's Day (Wrocław, Archives of theRemembrance and Future Centre [Polish: Ośrodek Pamięć i Przyszłość])

1999: Chemist's Day – swimming competition

(photo: company archives)

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in 1998 police officers took a hit losing the game. At present, there are a com-munal Orlik sports field (put into use in 2009) and a road safety training course located in that very place.

On 2nd May 2001, an old-boys match between Brzeg Dolny and Wołów teams took place at the city stadium, partici-pated in by both the Mayor and the Gov-ernor. The now forgotten final score was no more important than the wish for it to be the only form of rivalry between these two neighbouring cities.

The year 2002 witnessed the 1st Football Championship of teams of the Rokita Capital Group take place on the pitch in Wilcza Street. The tradition is now con-tinued through football championships in which teams composed of employees of various PCC Rokita departments and companies of the Capital Group compete for the “Cup of the President of PCC Rokita SA.” The event is also organised in its winter, indoor version.

A set of sports events

Football competitions are an essential part of the organised sports events, but you can also cheer on competitors in other disciplines – volleyball matches, tennis and table tennis tournaments, chess, wrestling, swimming and bridge competitions have all been organised on this occasion. Sports performances con-stitute an excellent opportunity for com-

petitors that train in the various sections of the MKS Rokita sports club on a dai-ly basis to show off their skills, and for the residents of Brzeg Dolny – present their individual achievements.

In 1982, as part of the Chemist's Day celebrations, a friendly wrestling match between young wrestlers and the rep-resentation of Wrocław was held in the Silesian Walls area. Victory went to Rok-ita’s young and junior teams. The wres-tling division of the MKS Rokita sports club is one of the most successful sec-tions, whose struggles are very popular during the celebrations.

Another traditional section of the Sports Club is the bridge division – chemists’ faithful companion. In 1989,

2003: Jubilee Ball in front of the canteen (photo: company archives)

2003: Chemist's Day – tennis tournament

(photo: company archives)

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Czesław Bogusławski and Wiesław Węgrzynowski triumphed over Wiktor Mieszczanowicz and Tadeusz Zaroń in the pairs' bridge tournament organised on the occasion of Chemist's Day. The games continue to this day (with a short break in the 1990s).

In the morning hours of 5th June 1999, the first Open Swimming Competition took place under the patronage of the President of Rokita SA at the newly built indoor swimming pool Aquasport. There were three age categories, each divided into men’s and women’s. The winners rode away on bikes. It is a pity triathlon was not so popular at the time as it could have been the beginning of some extraordinary sports careers.The opening of three tennis courts next to the city stadium in 1998 enriched the programme with tennis tournaments. Starting in 2004, the competition has taken on a form of VIP matches for the Cup of the President of PCC Rokita, at-tracting people known in the local com-munity. Saturday 23rd June 2007 saw 14 men take part in the fourth tournament ever. After several hours of fierce rivalry, the victory fell to Piotr Krzyżyński (Lin-pack, Bukowice), the second place was taken by Edward Rusinowicz (Prison Service, Wołów), and the third place by Stefan Michalski (Intersilesia, Strzelce Opolskie). The group of VIPs included the host of the event – Mirosław Krutin (PCC Rokita) and such personalities as Marek Aleksander Skorupa – Mayor of Brzeg Dolny, Krzysztof Kostecki (Brzeg Dolny City Hospital), Piotr Smelkowski (Secondary School in Brzeg Dolny), Piotr Gembara (PCC Autochem),

Zbigniew Andruszko (Hotel and Sports Complex), Jerzy Wieczorek (former Mayor of the Miękinia Borough) or Jerzy Więcławski and Grzegorz Łyczko (representatives of the previous Board of the Wołów District).

The list of disciplines is regularly updat-ed, with such competitions as “chemist's run,” streetball, taekwondo or sumo – which stemmed from the experience of the Rokita wrestling team – having popped up here and there along the way.

Jubilee Ball

Another permanent fixture In the cele-brations calendar are events known as the “Jubilee Ball,” often organised in the “Old Canteen” building.

At 2 p.m. on 4th June 1994 a meeting with 213 jubilee celebrators took place in the company's canteen building. Since it was a working Saturday, the company’s Management Board asked the managers to let the jubilee celebrators leave work early on that day, so that they could go home and get ready for the event.

It was in the place known as the “Kon-sum Rokita” hall that a meeting to which 158 jubilee celebrators were invited took place on the hot afternoon of 5th June 1998. Sławomir Sobieraj, President of the Management Board, said then: “Dis-tinguished Jubilee Celebrators! Thanks to your impeccable work, your devotion and dedication, Zakłady Chemiczne “Rokita” S.A. are still among the leaders of Polish chemical industry. I am proud

In 2006, the Chemist's Day con-cert was graced by the presence ofKrzysztof Krawczyk, and in 2007 – BoneyM! (photo: company archives)

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to be able to be here today on this mo-mentous occasion – the moment of hon-ouring your efforts with a symbolic, yet very meaningful badge, whose value is certainly not simply material.” Beautiful words, both worth repeating and consti-tuting an excellent cheat sheet for the next CEOs.

The grand banquet of 3rd June 2005 was held in the same place, known as the Glob-Eko hall. Those who could boast “honourable seniority” received watches with engravings reminding them of the many years of work in the company.

Invited guests should, however, always read the invitation carefully as there have been instances of other venues be-ing chosen for the event. On 16th June 1999 (as well as the next year), the meet-ing of 140 jubilee celebrators was held at the Cultural Centre in Brzeg Dolny. In 2001, jubilee celebrators met in the Athena Restaurant, and a year later – in the Galeria Restaurant, where a barbe-cue feast had been prepared.

The jubilee meeting of over 120 people on 6th June 2008 took place in the Audi-torium of the Secondary School, and in 2016, 82 jubilee celebrators (supported by their managers) were invited to the Grappa Restaurant. I wonder if anyone will ever risk organising the jubilee cel-ebration at the Klucha Kluchę Pogania greasy spoon?

At the Ball, employees celebrate their 25, 30, 35, 40, and the most persistent ones even 45 year anniversaries of work-ing in the plant. They receive congratu-

lations from the Board, the title of Rok-ita’s jubilee celebrator, honorary badges and material prizes.

Earlier on, before the 1990s, the award-ed prizes were in cash. Depending on the length of service, it was from 25 to 200% of the base rate. Initially, the low-est possible amount was due already af-ter having worked in the plant for three years.

It is worth mentioning here the partici-pants' remark – reported to the editors of the “Company Bulletin” – that the ju-bilee bonuses should be paid out not af-ter, but on the eve of the Chemist's Day. This was to guarantee a great mood at the celebration, while handing out the cash afterwards seemed like the pro-verbial “too little, too late.” And when I write “handing out,” I am being liter-al – at the time, bank accounts were not that popular yet, so remuneration was physically given to employees in cash. This, in turn, is related to another inter-esting phenomenon, one that intensified on paydays in particular – wives with children waiting at the front gate for their husbands and fathers at the end of the workday. The reason was, of course, them longing for their loved ones, but at the same time, it was a good opportu-nity to make sure that before returning home, the husband would not go out to celebrate with his colleagues, and not only on Chemist's Day.

The entertainment segment

The celebrations have had different forms and locations over the years. In

the 1990s, the entertainment part took place on the scene in the forest behind the Piast Hotel. Crowds of town’s resi-dents and the company’s employees gathered there for the entertainment, and on 6th June 1998, it was proba-bly for the last time. On that day, the main attraction was a performance by one of the best pop groups – Formacja Nieżywych Schabuff. Fun was guaran-teed with such hits as: Da, da, da; Lato; Klub wesołego szampana; or Baboki. It is a pity that the area had somewhat of a factory-like ambiance, but at least trees provided protection against both sun and light rain. Who knows, maybe the change of venue resulted from the protests of local residents complaining that the celebrations disturbed them in late evening hours, “infringing their pri-vacy.”

A year later, on Saturday 5th June 1999, one of the most popular Polish vocalists and leader of the Mafia band – Andrzej “Piasek” Piaseczny, who at the time tried his hand as an actor in the popular “Złotopolscy” soap opera, performed in the Old Town Square.

On 6th June 2002, the area behind the sports hall in Wilcza Street was the ven-ue of Anita Lipnicka's concert. The fina-le of that day, and at the same time the end of the chemists' day celebrations, was a fireworks show. In 2005, a crowd of Brzeg Dolny’s residents sang “Przeżyj to sam” along with the Lombard band.The entertainment segment of 2nd June 2007 was organised on the market square in Brzeg Dolny, where a performance by BoneyM took place. Despite the rain,

2018: Fire magic show!

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everyone had a great time. A year ear-lier, Rokita’s age-mate, Krzysztof Kraw-czyk performed behind the KHS Rokita sports hall for the town’s residents.

The band De Mono performed in 2008 on the mobile stage set up on the foot-ball pitch next to the KHS Rokita sports hall. The following year, the star of the evening was the band LESZCZE. De-spite heavy rain, the show was enthusi-astically received thanks to the band’s excellent contact with the audience. The daring versions of such hits as Ta dziew-czyna,, Genowefa, or Tak się bawi nasza klasa made up for the rainy weather.

In June 2010, for the first time ever, the Chemist's Day was combined with the Days of Brzeg Dolny. This three-day event, starting on Friday, was filled with performances by local bands and the ea-gerly awaited stars of the evening. The stars performing here in that period in-cluded Eleni, Monika Brodka, Urszula, Top One, Sylwia Grzeszczak and Elek-tryczne Gitary.

By decision of the Management Board of PCC Rokita SA, since 2013, the en-tertainment part has been organised as a closed event for employees of the PCC Group and their closest families only. Saturday 15th June 2013 saw the first multi-themed family picnic take place in a new location by the city stadi-um in Brzeg Dolny. Catering and a real

amusement park – a special treat for those youngest guests – were provided by Dart-Pol s.c. from Pszczyna. The play area was divided into three zones: eco, pirate and sports.

The employees of GK Rokita help to en-rich the programme by showing unusual chemical phenomena, while various art-ists and cover bands provide entertain-ment during the event organised in this newest form.

Now, providing the stars of the evening is in the domain of the borough, exer-cised as part of the Days of Brzeg Dolny celebrations organised in parallel to our event.

The starts that have already given con-certs as part of the City Days celebra-tions have been Liber and Natalia Sz-roeder as well as the Cugowski brothers (2015). Rafał Brzozowski introduced himself to us five years before his Euro-vision Song Contest performance, while the band Boys confessed to all female residents of Brzeg Dolny that they are wild in 2017 in their song “Jesteś szalo-na” [English: You’re wild]. Sławomir sang his hit “Miłość w Zakopanem” to-gether with the audience in 2018. Michał Szpak reminded us of his Eurovision song, and the band Łobuzy [English: Rascals] tried to convince everyone that the love of a rascal is the strongest in “Łobuz kocha najbardziej” (2019).

The future of the Chemist's Day

2020 was exceptional in terms of the Chemist's Day celebrations as their scope had to be very limited. Due to the limitations caused by the coronavirus pandemic, all the main events (sports competitions, the picnic and the Jubi-lee Ball) as well as those accompanying them, such as SIT's “eating the Presi-dent's bigos” meeting – a tradition start-ed in 2000 by Roman Bajda – all had to be cancelled. Awards were handed out among jubilee celebrators in private by the heads of given departments, while maintaining the sanitary regime. Unfor-tunately, similar restrictions also apply to 2021. All we can do is hope that the situation returns to normal the next year as the fair and the ball in a remote ver-sion are just not the same.

The Chemist's Day is an excellent exam-ple of the “power of tradition” as the res-olution establishing the celebrations lost its binding force a long time ago, having been repealed by Resolution No. 211 of the Council of Ministers of 14th October 1976. The tradition has, however, taken root among chemists to such an extent that they will not even consider breaking with it. Let us hope it will last until the end of the world and one June Sunday longer.

Marek WielowskiPCC Rokita

2019: Pizza from scratch!

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for referring someone for a job!

The referral bonus applies to the following vacancy:

HOW TO DO IT?All you need to do is send the referral form, CV and the consent to the processing of personal data form to rekomendacje@pcc.eu

The documents are available on the “Pracownik PCC” portal and in the HR Department in bldg G-1, room 6a.

* The bonus will be paid out to you after the referred person has

worked for six months!

The higher bonus applies to referrals made by the end of May 2021

RECOMMENDATIONACTION

September 2021

Nearly 1,200 employees of our Industrial Park took the opportunity to vaccinate against the COVID-19 virus last May. Another action, aimed at administering the second dose of the vaccine, was carried out in June.

“I’m glad to have had the opportunity to be vaccinated at our plant. Everything’s very well organised, there are no queues and everything goes very smoothly. This is a good move to-wards getting back to normal,” said one of the employees right after being vaccinat-ed.

The vaccination point is located in the Company Rescue Service buildings. We would like to thank our Rescue Service

staff for the exemplary conduct of the entire action, as well as our employees for being very disciplined at the vacci-nation point.

We all just can’t wait to return to nor-mal, and it is our hope that staff vaccina-tions will accelerate this process.

Maciej TrubiszEditorial Team

#We vaccinate!

From life of companies

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Open Day of the PCC Group

This year's Open Day of the PCC Group was held online due to the ongoing pandemic. To compensate for the lack of opportunity to meet students

face-to-face, we’d prepared videos showing the work of people in following jobs: lab technician, technologist, R&D specialist and technical specialist.

T his year, the leitmotif of our Open Day was chemical re-actions: chemical decompo-sition, the substitution reac-tion and chemical synthesis.

Why these? Because just like compounds are formed in reactions, our company combines the competences from various industries so that our products and servi-ces are ultimately provided at the highest possible level!

Chemical decomposition

CHEMICAL DECOMPOSITION is a chemical reaction known to every che-mist. Two or more products are formed from one substrate.

Especially for the students, we decided to "decompose" – break into smaller parts – the job position in the PCC Group that arouses a lot of interest among them, and not only among chemists – the technical specialist job.

The substitution reaction

The substitution reaction is one during which an exchange of components be-tween the reacting substances takes place. There are many such exchanges in chemi-stry, but we focused on the literal "exchan-ge" that occurs between the employees of our Group. We’ve shown how important cooperation and exchange of experience are at the lab technician position.

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Chemical synthesis

CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS gets asso-ciated with the dictionary definition of combining two or more substrates into one product? We’ve shown what it looks like at our place 😊

We’d prepared videos showing the work of our staff specialising in... synthesis (R&D specialist). The video also shows the work of a technologist, depicting that synthesis can be done on a larger scale on production installations.

The Open Day was part of the company--promoting activities that we started at the beginning of this year. As part of the spring campaign, we arranged online meetings with students from various fa-culties of Wrocław University of Science and Technology and Silesian University of Technology. We took turns on duty on Messenger and prepared interesting campaigns and contests in social media,

which resulted in considerable interest in the Scholarship Programme.

During the Open Day itself, apart from videos devoted to job positions, students had the opportunity to listen to a pre-sentation by the R&D Director – Igor Korczagin, the HR Department, as well as the heroes of our videos – Ania Kar-wowska (Junior R&D Specialist) and Patryk Latacz (Technical Specialist). Thank you for your commitment 😊

It is our hope that students enjoyed our efforts – the feedback we’ve received en-courages us to keep on going. "I’d like to congratulate you on having prepared an interesting Open Day, it was a pleasure to take part in it, :) " one of the partici-pants wrote. And we couldn’t have ho-ped for a better review!

Karolina Ławecka HR Specialist

PCC Group

„I’d like to congratulate you on having prepared an interesting Open Day, it was a pleasure to take part in it, :) "

one of the participants wrote.

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Izabela Dreja-Dulewska: Last March you took over the position of chief technologist at PCC CP Kosmet – congratulations! But let's start from the beginning – when did your professional adven-ture with the PCC Group start?

Wojciech Bojszczak: My profession-al adventure began in 2017 when I ap-plied to participate in the scholarship programme for graduate students. To this day, I remember walking from the train station, along Sienkiewicza Street, to the interview place. The size of the plant, the number of cars with the PCC logo and the look of the buildings made a huge impression on me. To my sur-prise (as, in my opinion, I didn’t do well at the interview :-) ), I was accepted to the programme, and starting that Sep-tember, I was able to work on my mas-ter's thesis at PCC Kosmet.

What was your master's thesis written during the scholarship about?

My thesis was devoted to validation of cosmetic products’ viscosity meas-urement in a small volume adapter, which I completed under the supervi-sion of our quality control department. Through working in a laboratory, I had the opportunity to learn about the "life cycle" of semi-finished products and all the necessary analyses. I have very good memories of all the performed tasks, and I can easily recommend participa-tion in the scholarship programme to every student!

What job offer did you receive at the end of the scholarship?

After completing the scholarship, I was offered a job as a junior technologist in the development department. As a grad-uate of Chemistry and Industrial Ana-lytics, I had some concerns about this kind of "retraining" to a new position. Fortunately for me, the entire team, both office and production staff, were very open and helpful.

What new tasks did you face when taking up a higher position?

For me, taking up the higher position is associated with a much greater con-tribution to new development projects at our plant and the continuous imple-mentation of the already existing du-ties of a technologist. In addition, due to the start of the next internship pro-gramme edition and taking on a new person for the holiday period, I will have a new role as a supervisor and teacher.

What’s the biggest challenge you’re dealing with these days?

Due to the new investment and the implementation of a robotic produc-tion line, the current challenge for me is to adapt the technology park to the increased needs, which means modern-isation of our infrastructure, selection of appropriate tanks, and optimisation of the technology for the production of semi-finished products.

Izabela Dreja-DulewskaHR Business Partner

PCC Group

From scholarship holder to chief technologist

In March, Wojciech Bojszczak took up the position of chief technologist at PCC Consumer Product Kosmet. He has been associated with the PCC Group since 2017,

and he’s about to tell us more about how his professional path has developed.

2021 – the European Year of Rail

The aim of the project is to promote rail as a sustainable, safe and affordable mode of transport. It is also counted among the most

environmentally-friendly means of transport.

It is an EU initiative to which we – as PCC Intermodal – fully sub-scribe. Pro-ecological activities fit into the pattern of the work we do. We have been convincing both our

customers and the community about the advantages of intermodal transpor-tation for years now. And as you can see in the calculations below, we are doing quite well – more and more companies are choosing rail over long-distance road transportation to move their loads. It is our hope that this trend will hold, con-firming the validity of our strategy.

According to the calculations of ex-perts from the European Environment Agency, the average CO2 emission per tonne-kilometre (tkm) is:

• 15.6 g/tkm in rail transport• 139.8 g/tkm in road transport.

And this is the year of PCC Intermod-al :). We do have a lot to celebrate, as

everything written above is about us. Intermodal means less CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. By choosing our services, in 2020 our Customers too contributed to the reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by over 315 thousand tonnes.And what can we – employees of the PCC Group – do to take care of the en-vironment? We urge you to plant a flow-er meadow! On 20th May we launched our ecological campaign "Intermodal – a green way," during which we intend to sow over 6,200 m2 of flower meadows – a colourful and beautiful alternative to evenly trimmed lawns. They can be sown in a home garden or in a pot on your balcony. Flower meadows are easy to maintain, they don’t need to be in-tensively watered, fertilised or mowed; and additionally, they attract bees and beneficial insects, constituting a good shelter and source of food for them. And the more satisfied bees there are, the more honey we get. We’ve already

ordered over 100 kilos of honey that we wish to gift to you. To receive it, just send us a photo with a flower meadow in the background in one of the four cat-egories:

• Most orange flower meadow • Flower meadow in a pot• Flower meadow in the company garden• PCC Intermodal locomotive on a green

background

Rules and regulations of the competi-tion can be found here: www.pccinter-modal.pl/green-way. Join our campaign and take part in the competition, may this summer be beau-tiful and fragrant, friendly to bees and the environment, and let the next issue of the newsletter be filled with your col-ourful photos of flower meadows.

foto Olek Hałas

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The activity of sowing flower meadows was also joined in by little helpers from PCC Intermodal, who worked briskly and very professionally. Sand shovels, watering cans and rakes were all quickly in use... all so that the colourful flowers could soon be enjoyed. We’re waiting for the results!

Adaś i Kamil (Agnieszka Guszpit)

Max i

 Miko

łaj (

Danu

ta G

rabo

wska

)

Lena (Ewa Mielka)

Jaś (Katarzyna Uklejewska-Krawczyk)Apolonia (Katarzyna Uklejewska-Krawczyk)

Kacper (Łukasz Salomonowicz)

Lena i Karol (Magdalena Kwapisz)

Mikołaj (Magdalena Milbrod)

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Kuba (Zofia Doring)

Alicja (Karolina Wajda)

Ania i Tomek (Maja Heinowska) Le

on (M

arty

na G

wiaź

dzińs

ka)

Zosia (Martyna Gwiaździńska)

Julia (Marzena Jędrzejczak)

Maja (Mateusz Węglewski)

Michalina (Tomasz Maliszewski)

Kasia (Monika Konsor-Fąferek)

Paweł (Marek Pytka)

Lena i Elizabeth (Tomasz Książyk)

Mikołaj (Zofia Doring)

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June 2021

The first time I came in con-tact with a drone was less than a year ago. And to be honest – it was love at first sight. How many of us have

ever dreamed of flying and seeing the world the way a bird sees it? I certainly have, and modern technology’s made it possible.

The drones I’d like to focus on today give you a sense of freedom. In princi-ple, it can be said that airspace is with-out limits, and in theory everyone can find a place in it for themselves. And so it is, but in practice – everyone will find a place in it for themselves by following the relevant regulations that apply here to make such flights safe not only for drone users, but also for other airspace users (such as, for example, the Polish Medical Air Rescue or civilian passen-ger aircrafts).

Drones have revolutionised the pho-tography market, but also quickly gained the status of a cool gadget. Small, cheap and available on the market – all this has brought about a large number of drone users. According to statistics by the Civil Aviation Authority, at the end of December 2020, there were officially nearly 23,000 people in Poland holding the so-called Certificate of Qualifica-tions authorising the use of drones. Reg-ulations introduced at the end of 2020 allow all those interested to be able to easily obtain the qualifications necessary to become an operator of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV operator in short), and those holding a Certificate of Quali-fications – to automatically convert their licences. The course and the exam are free and done online. This meant that people who, until the end of 2020, had flown drones without a permit could eas-ily obtain a licence to fly drones in the appropriate category.

Flying a drone safelyover Brzeg Dolny

Photographing our plant requires a special permit. But is such a permit necessary when photos are taken with a drone? Can you even fly a drone

around our company premises or in the plant’s vicinity? You will find answers to all these questions in today's feature.

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What does it look like when it comes to flying over Brzeg Dolny?

First of all, it needs to be said that fly-ing over Brzeg Dolny is possible. Most of the town’s airspace is open without any restrictions – but remember to fol-low the general rules. The most impor-tant piece of information for all who wish to perform such flights, however, is as follows: parts of the city are the so-called DRA-P zones (Drone Air-space Prohibited). For safety reasons, such a zone has been established over our plant. It would seem that drones are so light that they cannot cause any damage – remember though that, how-ever light, drones are powered with batteries, which, if damaged, can cause a fire or explosion. Losing control of a drone can be very dangerous, which is why the airspace over our plant is a P zone. In practice, this means that it is forbidden to perform such flights with-in the designated area – regardless of whether they are so-called recreational or commercial flights and the size of the drone. Importantly, photographing the plant also requires the consent of the administrator.

How to find out where you can fly?

The easiest option is to download the Droneradar app, which is mandatory for all drone operators. Based on your cur-rent location on the ground (not that of the drone in the air), the app will show where you are and whether flying in the given area is permitted. Interestingly, in April alone, there were over 42,500 check-ins done in the Droneradar sys-tem, which shows how popular drone flying actually is. Remember, however, that when planning a flight, you should plan it in such a way so as not to violate the DRA-P zones as, under the Aviation Law, it may have very unpleasant conse-quences for the drone operator.

Is it possible to obtain consent for the flight from the administrator?

Obtaining consent from PCC Rokita to perform flights is possible (I need to remind you, though, that such consent alone is not sufficient to fly in a DRA-P zone, as you will also need to notify PANSA UTM and obtain their approval for the so-called drone flight plan). How-ever, obtaining such approval for a rec-

reational flight will be very difficult. The P zones are established so that drones and other aircrafts, such as paragliders or powered hang gliders, would not fly into them. Such consent can be given for flights carried out for such purposes as, for example, performing expertise of an area located in the DRA-P zone.

If the plant is visible in the back-ground of a photo or video, does it violate PCC Rokita’s rules?

Due to what a big part of our town the plant is, it is difficult to take pictures with a drone in which the plant will not be visible. Provided that the plant is part of the landscape and not the main focus of the photo, it doesn’t violate PCC Rok-ita’s regulations.

Flying a drone is a lot of fun. Things we are used to seeing in certain way look very different from the air. Remember, however, to fly in accordance with appli-cable regulations so that your flights are safe and enjoyable to everyone.

Maciej Trubisz Editorial Team

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Maciej Trubisz: Krzysztof, big con-gratulations! Last June, you won the title of the Polish Champion in the 20th Jubilee Polish Champion-ship for Uniformed Services. How does it feel to come to work with the title of Polish Champion?

Krzysztof Kasiańczuk: My adventure with chess started when I was 33, which is very late for any player, but my chess story is not that obvious. When he was seven, my son, Patryk, wanted to take up chess, and that's how it started.

I went to classes of the chess division to later work on the material at home. After six months, Patryk won the title of the Vice-Champion of Poland in the Polish Preschoolers' Championships, and I discovered within myself a tal-ent for teaching. I decided to improve

my qualifications in that what gave me a lot of fun and become a chess instructor. With time, I received a pro-posal to run the MKS Rokita Brzeg Dolny youth sports club’s chess di-vision. Success came thanks to hard work and commitment. The children won the Lower Silesia Junior Champi-onships, the Wrocław Championships, and took part in the Polish as well as the German Championships. Today, I’ve reached the next stage in my ad-venture with chess – the first chess category. Despite the passage of time, I am still developing. The title of the best chess player among professional firefighters in Poland, won at the 20th Jubilee Polish Championship for Uni-formed Services in Głuchołazy, consti-tutes a summary of my adventure and is a great motivation to continue work-ing and striving for perfectionism.

How many games did you have to play to defeat your opponents and how long did the competition last?

The tournament started on 1st and end-ed on 6th June 2021. There were nine rounds, ninety minutes per game, plus 30 seconds per player’s move.

The tournament can be participated in by representatives of such services as Polish Army, Police, Prison Service, Border Guard, Customs and Tax Ser-vices, State Fire Service, Volunteer Fire Brigade, and other. Competition was very fierce. My experience, which is very important in this sports discipline, also helped me to achieve this success. It is worth mentioning that I had the oppor-tunity to participate in the first Individu-al Polish Chess Championships for Uni-formed Services, which took place 20

Chess – a passion of mine

Krzysztof Kasiańczuk is the team leader in the Company Rescue Service. On a daily basis, he ensures safety in emergency situations on the plant

premises, but in his spare time he devotes himself to a great passion of his.

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years ago, and in total I’ve taken part in these tournaments a dozen or so times.

Is chess exhausting? Can the effort you put in a game be com-pared to other sports?

Chess is very exhausting. Each move requires making a decision and bearing its consequences, counting options. The feeling is similar to that in a marathon, you need to be in shape and keep your strength for the finish. Two games a day means approximately eight hours at the board, and any single mistake can end the game.

Training is very important in any sports discipline. What does train-ing look like for chess players?

A chess game can be divided into three stages: the opening, middle game and end game. Chess training consists in studying these elements, competing in tournaments, and solving chess prob-lems. Physical condition is a very impor-tant element too.

In my case this is where cycling helps, as it not only develops me physically and calms me down, but also allows me to discover the beauty of Poland. I’ve been hiking in the mountains for years and

have reached the peak of the Crown of Polish Mountains three times.

The ability to predict the oppo-nent's moves as well as concentra-tion are extremely important in this sports discipline. And how much do these help you in your daily work as a company firefighter?

Chess is a very good way of life. It teach-es humility, long-term thinking, plan-ning ahead and consistency in making decisions. Perseverance and the ability to act in difficult conditions that require all the physical and mental strength you can muster are features that must also characterise a firefighter. I encourage everyone to try their hand at the “Game of Kings” as it helps you shape your character and teaches paying attention to your physical condition. It is an hon-our for me to represent my professional group at national competitions, espe-cially now that I’ve brought the winner's laurel wreath to Brzeg Dolny.

Congratulations! I wish you con-tinued success!

Interview byMaciej Trubisz

Editorial Team

XX Individual Polish Championship of Uniformed Services

The summer holidays are coming – and we’re waiting for your holiday photos! Show us your postcard from holiday wherever you spend it.

Authors of three most interesting photos will receive small gift prizes.

The deadline for submitting your holiday photos is 31st August 2021.

Please send the photos to: biuletyn@pcc.eu

You’re welcome to participate in the contest. The rules and regulations are available from the publisher of the newsletter.

A postcard from holiday

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